MOTOGP: Espargaro to miss Suzuki test

Aleix Espargaro will miss the Suzuki MotoGP team's test at Sepang next week, after fracturing a vertebra in a training accident.

The Spaniard injured his back while landing his off-road motorcycle from a jump near his hometown of Granollers on Thursday. He spent the evening in Barcelona's Hospital Universitari Quiron Deixeus after undergoing initial checks, and an MRI on Friday morning revealed a flexion fracture of the T9 vertebra.

Espargaro has been cleared of further injury, but he will be sidelined for two to three weeks. That means Maverick Vinales will be joined by test riders Takuya Tsuda and Nobuatsu Aoki at Sepang on Nov. 23-24.

The test will be the first time Vinales uses MotoGP's new-for-2016 control electronics, with Suzuki's race riders having focused on the new Michelin tyres during Valencia's post-season running earlier this month.

Originally on Autosport.com